Show Your Money Some Love

Happy LOVE Day!

Fair warning, I’m going to get bit woo woo here 😊

Let’s talk about your relationship with money.

This is a good year to do that. Why? Because we are in a 6 year.

A what year (you ask)??!!

A 6 year, numerologically speaking. Let me explain – the sum of the “2022” year is 6 (2+2+0+2= 6). And ‘six’ years are all about relationships. Noticing them. Evaluating them. Strengthening them. Keeping the ones that are supporting you. Letting go of the ones that are not.

Let’s expand upon the word ‘relationships’.

We intuitively think of relationships as something you have with another person. But really, you have a relationship with EVERYTHING. Yourself. Your home. Your car. Your health. And, for the purpose of this blog post, your money.

Yup! You have a relationship with money.

So, here is my first question. How do you treat your money? Do you loathe it? Get mad at it? Does it disgust you? Does it make you mad?  Do you neglect it? Tolerate it? Encourage it?

Or, do you respect money, and invite it into your life openly? Maybe you allow it to support you or love it unconditionally?

Ok, that was a lot, let’s unpack this a bit.

Let’s do this by reflecting back to the start of a love relationship and the cycles it goes through.

THE HONEYMOON PHASE

There’s the courtship phrase. Yes, I know,  I am totally dating myself here 😉 … you are intrigued by someone, you feel connected to them. You start seeing each other. It’s new and exciting. You feel happy, excited, optimistic for your future. You express your love for them. They for you. You think about the future and all the wonderful things in store for you with them in your life. You feel grateful and fulfilled.

Now, remember back to your first job, your first paycheck. Maybe you were living at home. You had disposable income. Life was fun and exciting and full of possibilities. You were living life to the fullest.

How was your relationship with money at that time?

You probably loved it! It was exciting. You felt like you had an abundance of money. It was manifesting the things in your life that you wanted. The world, as they say, was your oyster.

And then (cue the Jaws soundtrack) 😉

 

THE REALTY PHASE

You move in together. You are together 24/7. You notice little things about your partner. He or she snores, or breathes too loudly, or laughs annoyingly, or any number of weird little things that cause you to take notice.  You have to figure out chores and personal space and bill paying from a whole new perspective. You or your partner are not as loving as before. You don’t feel as appreciated. Perhaps you are experiencing more fights or disagreements. In enters doubt, guilt, shame, envy, annoyance, or any number of low-vibrational emotions.

Can you see how this plays out with your money relationship?

Money/credit becomes a bit too much of your life. Maybe you used a bit too much credit and you weren’t able to pay it off in full anymore. You start to pay interest. You feel guilty about purchases. You feel a bit irresponsible. You try to budget but it isn’t working. You have more bills and not as much fun money. Suddenly, you start to get mad at your money. It’s not going far enough. It’s not bringing you enough joy. It’s not giving you what you need at this time.  It is not living up to your expectations.

 

THE TURNING POINT

One of three things typically takes place at this time. (In both a love relationship and a money relationship.) You either:

1. figure it out and find a place to move forward
2. get stuck in a rut feeling trapped and miserable
3. call it quits – this relationship is just not working for you anymore.

 

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY FLOW OF MONEY?

I want you to pause, take a breath and consider your money as a living, breathing thing. See it (in your minds eye) as something tangible.  Take a moment to visualize it. It may look like a person, or simply be a shape or an energy or a feeling. If nothing comes up, just make it up. Give it a form.

Connect to the energy of the thing you now see as money and ask yourself these questions:

• Do you love it?
• Does it support you?
• Do you give it the respect it deserves?
• Are you in the honeymoon phase? reality phase? somewhere in between?

If you are constantly angry at money, frustrated with money, treating it as a pain point in your life, how do you think it is going to respond to you? How do you think it is going to show up for you? Will it want to be around you, supporting you?

Ah! I think you are getting it. Did you feel that shift?

Congratulations, you have entered the pivot point. This is the point where you start to strengthen your relationship with money.

Let’s talk about HOW to start to change your attitude towards money, how YOU can SHOW YOUR MONEY SOME LOVE!

(Because, and this is key, you have to be the one to change. Money is simply a reflection of you! It will never change if you don’t give it the space to).

I heard this quote recently and I love it.

“Money is the mirror that reflects the energy of its beholder”

Go back and read that one more time. Slowly. Let it settle with you.

Recently, participants at a presentation I was giving, followed the tips I’m about to share with you. As a result, one participant saw money come in from unexpected places. Another completely changed the way she viewed her business AND stopped undercharging (under valuing) herself. And another started to see how she had shortchanged herself by failing to recognize just how powerful she was with her money systems and began noticing, instead, the amazing decisions she was making and the progress that had taken place.

10 Tips to LOVE on your money:

Appreciate the money that comes in

• (1) Write a positive affirmation of gratitude on your paycheck/paystub/bank statement every time money comes in.

(I have a good 6 months’ worth of these scanned to a folder in my computer, named with the affirmation. Things like “Thank you for supporting my lifestyle”, “I appreciate you coming to me every month”. “I love money and money loves me”.)

Get creative and have fun!

• (2) When someone pays for your services, thank them. Either in person, or in written form.

(When someone buys a product from me, I put a note in the order that says “Thank you for supporting me”.)

• (3) When unexpected money comes in, take a moment to get excited and thank the source

(or you can thank the Universe, God, spirit, etc. for opening up the flow of money to you.)

• (4) When you get your income tax refund, express gratitude for the windfall, regardless of how big or small

Do you receive some type of government benefit cheque – gst, disability payment, child tax payment, etc.?

• (5) Thank the government for giving you that extra cash flow

(I know this is a tough one for some. Essentially this is your money coming back to you – so go ahead and thank yourself, or every other citizen of your nation for contributing for the greater good)

 

Appreciate the money that goes out

Warning: this one can be arguably a tad more difficult, and may require some practice 😉

 

• (6) Every time you pay a bill do it with gratitude.

For example, you can thank the power company for providing power, the phone company for connecting you with loved ones, or your rent or mortgage provider for giving you a roof over your head

• (7) Take a moment to thank insurance companies for giving you peace of mind

(that is, after all, what you are paying for)

• (8) Write a token of appreciation on every bill you pay, or cheque you write

(for those who still pay things in physical form) 😊 

• (9) Pay for an item with love, from the heart and bless the money on its journey. Consider how your money is helping others.

(For example, if you are buying something at a local hardware store, perhaps you bless that money as it goes to the owners and employees of that store to help them live a better life.) Every cent you spend is helping someone else. That’s very powerful!

• (10) Pay your taxes with a grateful heart.

This last one has to be one of the hardest. Thank the government for providing you services – roads to drive on, health care to take care of you, etc.

(Yes, it’s easy to get stuck in the “They are not doing enough” mentality, but it is exactly that thinking that stops the flow of money to and from you. Set that aside, at least for this exercise, and simply focus on the gratitude)

IN SUMMARY

If you want money to show up in your life and support you, and nurture you and love you, then you have to show it some love. You have to support it, and nurture it, and love it. Show it some gratitude today and see what shows up for you tomorrow.

Happy LOVE Day! ~ Share below how you show your money some love!

Until my next post…

Wishing you all happy, healthy finances.

Mary Ann
aka Dr Debt